Chapter 566

“Phelia.”

Mmm…

“Phelia, wake up.”

Who? Who’s calling me?

“Phelia, stop sleeping already, you should wake up now.”

Don’t disturb me, don’t disturb me, I’m getting up!

Responding to the familiar voice, the jade-eyed maiden instinctively reached out to rub her eyes and then sat up from the ground, looking around with a bewildered expression.

Lawn, fountain, pool, open terrace… The carved brick paths covered with moss, the exquisite statues with broken corners, the untended green patches turning yellow, the dilapidated garden overrun with weeds – everything looked so strange, yet so familiar…

This is… the old garden behind the royal palace?”You’ve finally woken up.”

Looking at Phelia, who had messy hair and was sitting dumbly on the yellowed grass, Prince Andre couldn’t help but chuckle lightly. He continued setting up his easel while reminiscing with a nostalgic expression: “You used to love lying down on the grass to sleep, especially when it wasn’t too hot in summer. You’d always beg me to bring an umbrella and come play in this garden.

After playing until you were tired, you wouldn’t even wipe your sweat, just set up the umbrella, lie down on the ground, and start snoring. While sleeping, you’d roll around, smudging your face like a little monkey. It got me scolded by mother countless times…”

Brother Andre…

Seeing the gentle expression on Prince Andre’s face, Phelia’s previously flustered heart unconsciously relaxed. She couldn’t help but ask:

“Just now…”

“I controlled that troublesome cleaner and saved you from his hands, you’re safe now.”

“Ah… That’s good…”

“…”

Looking at the jade-eyed maiden who asked a question but didn’t come closer, Prince Andre blinked in surprise, then seemed to understand something as he furrowed his brows and said:

“Did he say anything to you?”

“Mm-hmm…”

Phelia certainly understood who “he” specifically referred to in Andre’s words. Recalling what Leon had said earlier, the jade-eyed maiden couldn’t help but bite her lips but eventually chose to confess directly:

“That person told me… You’ve had at least two opportunities to kill me.

When attacking the Chief of the Scorpio Division, you probably didn’t know that I had already been taken away by Leon, but to prevent me from being captured by the Scorpion Bureau Director, you still ordered the bombardment of Administrative Zone 38 where the Clearing Bureau was located.

Also, you let Apheta 00 take my place and control all the long-range weapons of the kingdom. If any suspicious targets tried to leave the capital city, immediate saturation bombing would commence… Are these true?”

“…”

After hearing the jade-eyed maiden’s inquiry, Prince Andre couldn’t help but fall silent for a moment before nodding slightly.

“Yes… I did issue those two orders.”

“…”

“But you know, I couldn’t help but do it.”

Seeing the disappointed expression on his beloved younger sister’s face, Andre sighed involuntarily and explained earnestly:

“Phelia, you are also a recognized member of the Execution King Assembly and understand the situation there. Both you and I are bound by obligations; we must ensure the bloodline of the Crocodile Royal Family is severed, and I only had one chance to ambush the Chief of the Scorpio Division.

If I held back because of your situation during the attack and failed to keep him there, once he abandoned the other cleaners and forcibly took you away from the Crocodile Kingdom, both of us would be executed due to the ‘obligations.'”

The jade-eyed maiden nodded slightly and responded softly:

“I’m not blaming you. After all, it’s my fault things turned out this way. If I hadn’t given in to my curiosity and recklessly approached Leon, you wouldn’t have had to make such a choice. I was too impulsive.”

“This isn’t your fault.”

Upon hearing this, Prince Andre shook his head with a pained expression: “I agreed when you went, after all. My previous actions hadn’t revealed any flaws, so in the eyes of the Clearing Bureau personnel, the entire royal family should still be alive. They had no reason to harm you.

But that Leon…”

Recalling the guy from the “Night Banquet at the Palace,” who could relentlessly exploit his weaknesses even after being turned into a clown, Prince Andre’s mouth twitched involuntarily. With some helplessness, he said: “He’s just not normal.

Phelia, after you were captured by him, I thought about it for a long time but couldn’t figure out why he acted so decisively without knowing the full situation…”

“…”

After hearing her brother’s complaint, the jade-eyed maiden couldn’t help but feel a chill and raised her hand to touch the back of her head where Leon had cut her, falling silent as well.

Indeed, that freak was really over-the-top.

Before deciding to approach him, she had repeatedly calculated using the mechanical intelligence core, and no matter how she calculated, the result was always the same – he wouldn’t lay a hand on her. But that freak dared to do it anyway, chatting with her for a bit and then grabbing her without hesitation.

As for how to evaluate that person… Thinking about it again and again, only one word seemed appropriate: “Not quite normal.”

…

“Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore.”

After being mentally exhausted by Leon’s “abnormal behavior,” the two siblings remained silently speechless for a while. Then, Prince Andre broke the silence, adjusting the easel while consoling her: “At that time, the trap for the Scorpion Bureau Director hadn’t been triggered yet, and my goal was to stabilize them as much as possible. So, whether it was me or you, one of us had to meet Leon.

And if you hadn’t volunteered to go, the person he caught would most likely have been me, and the situation might have been worse than it is now. In short, getting captured wasn’t your fault.”

“Mm-hmm…”

Nodding and accepting the comfort, the jade-eyed maiden looked at the easel in front of Andre with some hesitation and asked: “Brother Andre, are you going to paint me again?”

“Yes.”

After securing the canvas onto the frame, Prince Andre nodded, then began cleaning the brushes with turpentine oil while responding intently: “In the past, when I painted you, I could only capture your likeness. There were no technical issues, but I could never grasp that hazy feeling. But now it’s different. Now, I’m confident I can paint the most complete version of you.”

“That’s good…”

Hearing this, the jade-eyed maiden nodded, then pursed her lips slightly before asking further:

“Brother Andre, can I know why you couldn’t paint me well in the past, but now you’re confident you can?”

“…”

Hearing Phelia’s question, Prince Andre, who was sketching lines, couldn’t help but pause momentarily, then looked up at the jade-eyed maiden with a furrowed brow:

“Why are you asking this?”

“I just want to know the answer…”

Phelia’s small fists clenched slightly as she looked straight at Prince Andre and asked softly:

“Brother Andre, has the person you’ve been painting all along really been me?”